BUSINESS SCHOOL
STAFFORDSHIRE UNIVERSITY
Module Name:
Module Code:
Module Leader:
Checked by:
Assignment Title:
Weighting
Understanding the Business Environment
BSR30229-4
Gordon Leach
John Cooper
Understanding the Business at Work.
Assignment 100%
Submission Dates
RAF High Wycombe
1600 hrs 10th June 2011
RAF Marham
1600 hrs 17th June 2011
MOD Stafford
1600 hrs 24th June 2011
Hand-in Details
Hand-in Details
All work should be submitted by email to Pat Holdcroft with the Assignment Submission
Form fully completed. This is arranged in such a way that your submission is anonymous
and the work will be marked anonymously. Therefore you must accurately record your
student number on the form. You will receive an email receipt as proof of submission but it is
in your own interest to keep a personal copy of the work submitted
Assignments must be submitted by the due date. The only circumstance in which
assignments can be submitted late is if an extenuating circumstances form is submitted at
the same time. In these circumstances work may be submitted up to 2 weeks late only. If
the extenuating circumstances are upheld, the assignment will be graded, otherwise a Grade
Point 0 will be awarded.
There has been an important change to the academic regulations that will come into
force for all on-campus and UK partner students’ from this academic year – September
2010/11.
In essence, if you fail to submit any assessment for a module you will be given a Grade
Point N (Fail due to non-submission) for that module and you will no longer have a
guaranteed re-sit entitlement. Any further attempt entitlement will be at the discretion
of the Award Board. This regulation applies to all undergraduate and postgraduate
awards and at all levels. The regulation change has been incorporated into the
University’s published academic regulations available on the website at the following
link.
http://www.staffs.ac.uk/assets/ugrad_mod_fram_tcm44-26763.pdf
Learning Outcomes
This assignment will assess learning outcomes as follows:
1.
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2.
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3.
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4.
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Word Length
Maximum word length of the assignment is 1500 words (excluding the contextualization and
PESTLE and SWOT analyses).
A sliding scale of penalties for excess length above the page count will be imposed
according to the amount by which the limit has been exceeded.
1-10% excess
no penalty
11-20% excess
10% reduction in the mark
21-30% excess
20% reduction in the mark
31%+ excess
the work will be capped at a pass i.e. 40% or grade point 4.
NB. None of the above penalties will be used to change a student mark which is above the
pass mark, to one that is below the pass mark. Therefore the maximum penalty for
exceeding the word limit will be a reduction to a pass grade.
Plagiarism Warning
Summary
• Plagiarism occurs if you use somebody else's work in an assignment or exam answer,
but fail to state where you got the material from.
• It can happen in any type of assessment where you are given the questions or tasks in
advance.
• If another student uses your work in their answer(s), both you and they will be punished
when caught.
• Punishments for committing plagiarism can be very severe.25-30 students get caught in
the Business School every year.
The Details
Plagiarism is a form of cheating in which students use the work of others and present it as
their own. The University publishes a fully detailed description of what the term ‘plagiarism’
means on the University’s main web-site under the heading ’Procedures for dealing with
suspected cases of academic dishonesty. We strongly recommend that you go and read the
full document at the above address. Meanwhile, here is an extract of some of the relevant
content. You will have committed plagiarism and may be caught, reported and punished (as
described below) if you:

Copy extensively from the work of others (from sources such as books, magazines,
journals, web-sites for example) and submit the work as your own. NB It is acceptable to
refer to the work of others as long as you do not use too much, and reference your
sources properly. If you do not know how to do this, please follow the guidelines given in
the document entitled ‘Adding quotations and references to your written work’ at this website address:
http://www.staffs.ac.uk/schools/business/bsadmin/staff/s3/jamr.htm

Copy another students’ work and submit it for assessment under your own name.

Allow another student to copy your work and they then submit it for assessment under
their name.
This last item is of particular importance; few students seem to understand what it means. If,
for example, you allow another student to borrow your work and they subsequently copy
some that work and present it as their own, you and they will both be punished even though
someone else copied your work.
The risks of working with other students
Some assessment tasks are explicitly designed for group work, and it will be made clear that
a group answer is expected from you. All other tasks are intended as an assessment of your
individual comprehension and performance, and group answers are not permitted.
In individually assessed forms of assessment your work must be different from that of every
other student. Plagiarism can occur in assignments and any examination where the
questions are issued to students in advance. In both cases it is possible for you to ask other
people about how best to answer the questions or complete the necessary tasks
You should be aware that different modules and subjects may have different requirements. In
some subjects, answers to questions may, for example, require every student on a module to
employ or refer to the same diagram(s), concepts and the like in order to construct an
acceptable answer. You should note, however, that even in these circumstances your
explanations of what the diagrams mean, and any other writing referring to any common
diagrams and concepts should all be in your own words.
Moreover, the situation may be very different on other modules, where the submission of
work that has a very similar structure, or the use of very similar materials such as concepts,
diagrams, quotations and the like, to that of another student, may lead to you being accused
of plagiarism.
The picture is complicated and, unfortunately, it is not possible to give advice that is directly
relevant to every module you study. If you are unsure about how to avoid plagiarism in any
specific module, then rather than hoping and guessing, you should ask for guidance from the
CWT Tutor who delivers that module.
Our overall advice is straightforward; by all means discuss how best to answer questions or
complete tasks with your colleagues, but when it comes to actually writing your answers - DO
IT ALONE!
What happens if you get caught?
Contrary to some student rumours, getting caught and being punished for committing
plagiarism is not an extremely unusual student offence.
The Business School typically uncovers and reports for disciplinary action 25 to 30 students
each year for plagiarism. Examination Boards may punish offending students in any manner
that they deem fit. Typical punishments Boards may choose range from reducing grades,
making students re-sit modules, through to failing students on a module or an entire award.
The University regards this form of cheating as a serious offence.
Full details of the range of likely punishments can be found on the University’s web-site
under the heading ’Procedures for dealing with suspected cases of academic dishonesty’.
WORK BASED ASSIGNMENT
STAFFORDSHIRE UNIVERSITY BUSINESS SCHOOL
SESSION 2010/11
MODULE TITLE:
Understanding the Business Environment
MODULE NO.:
BSR30229-4
ASSESSMENT:
Assignment
LEARNING OUTCOMES
1. Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the external and internal environment and
the impact of strategic decisions on the organisation and its’ operational management.
2. Develop coherent lines of argument and suggest solutions to organisational dilemmas.
3. Demonstrate the ability to analyse, evaluate and apply business theories and concepts
to business decision making .
4. Communicate information effectively and offer arguments in an appropriate written
formats. .
This assignment will require the students to demonstrate their understanding of the business
environment and the implications to the business and their job roles.
ASSIGNMENT
In order to complete this assessment you will first be required to describe the organisation
you work for in sufficient depth to allow the reader to put your answers in context.
NOTE: This is not part of the assessment and a maximum of 500 words is permitted
exclusively for this contextualisation.
TASK ONE
A) You are to carry out a PESTLE analysis on the business environment in which
your company operates. (15% of marks)
B) Having carried out this analysis describe how the current external environment will
affect your company.
Conclude this section by explaining which of the external factors you consider will
have the most impact on your organisation and explain why. (25% of marks)
TASK TWO
C) Having decided on the most significant external change in relation to your
company carry out a SWOT analysis. (10% of marks)
D) Now refer to the elements of the SWOT model and recommend how you
consider your area of the organisation should respond to external pressures.
(15% of marks)
E) You are aware that any actions proposed by management impacts on you as a
leader/manager and on the employees who work for you. Should the strategic
management team accept your recommendations how would you facilitate and
communicate these directives to your team. Provide evidence of this process.
( 35% of marks)
This assignment is weighted at 100% and assesses learning outcomes 1, 2, 3 and 4.